Bothell dentist ‘pays it forward’

BOTHELL – Even when Patti Kashiwa was in dental school she knew her heart was in public health. She got her degree, opened a private practice and worked in a community clinic.

More than two decades later Kashiwa, a Bothell dentist, is continuing her vision of helping those who need dental care but who don’t have the means to pay for it.

Giving back and helping others, whether it be in Africa or our own back yard, is a vision shared by many small businesses in Snohomish County as well as conglomerates such as Starbucks and Microsoft.

In Kashiwa’s case, she is using her dental business to support Pay It Forward With A Smile, a program she created that provides basic care for Medicaid families in the area. In turn, her patients pay back by helping in the community.

“It’s a really simple program,” Kashiwa said.

Kashiwa sees many local residents coming into her practice who are in a no man’s land when it comes to dental coverage. “The state only covers up to age 18,” Kashiwa said. “Kids come in and parents have horrible dental problems and nowhere to go.”

Patients come to Kashiwa, sign a contract saying they will pay it forward and the dentist gets to work. She started the program in March 2005.

When people go from Kashiwa’s dental office and out into the community they take on various roles: One young man wanted to work with a diabetes program, another patient helped clean houses.

Bothell resident Lori Magill was Kashiwa’s first participant.

Magill had been a patient at Kashiwa’s practice when she worked full time and had insurance. But the problem for her arose when she went back to school and took a part-time job to further her career. She then had no insurance. So she signed the Pay It Forward contract.

“I saw a unique opportunity to give back to the community in a meaningful way,” Magill said.

Magill began working as a volunteer with a nonprofit organization that helps people struggling with domestic violence situations. She also added the Partners for Youth in the YMCA to her volunteer services and helped raise money for that program.

“It took me out of my comfort zone,” Magill said.

Magill now has a master’s degree in education and is happy to say that she has a full-time job with benefits. “I was in the low-income bracket,” Magill said. “My new job will pull us out of that.”

A single parent, Magill believes that dental care has made her feel better about herself and that giving back to the community has made her feel good.

The other part of Kashiwa’s program is getting other local dentists to become involved. She has reached out to let her colleagues know about the program.

“This affects all of us,” Kashiwa said. “Even if I can reach one dentist.”

Kashiwa’s goal for the people she serves is a family education with maintenance, reinforcement and support. Many patients have no transportation, “not to mention the bureaucracy of trying to find someone who takes Medicaid,” Kashiwa said.

A lot of dentists are concerned with being flooded with calls and patients, which is not something that has happened in Kashiwa’s practice. “Basically the impact on business has been none,” she said.

Patients can be referred to Kashiwa through the Snohomish Health District’s referral service.

“If we work together as a community, then it’s not a big deal,” Kashiwa said.

For Paul Henderson of Marysville and Kim Longmore of Lake Stevens, buying the Snohomish coffeehouse Wired and Unplugged in April gave them an opportunity to take their vision of helping the community to a small business.

“It was part of our mission statement from the very beginning,” Longmore said.

Not only do Longmore, a teacher, and Henderson, an administrator at the University of Washington, offer open mics, poetry nights and concerts at Wired and Unplugged, but they have taken their new venture to a wider audience.

Proceeds from their opening event went to the Foundation for Sustainable Community, which in August held a Children’s Peace Village. Both Henderson and Longmore saw the fruits of their labor when children from the Snohomish community attended the camp.

With opening their coffeehouse for concerts and workshops, Henderson and Longmore have decided that the business side of their mission is secondary to how they can help the community.

“Income cannot be an issue,” Henderson said.

With their vision in motion, Henderson and Longmore want to take it further and perhaps connect with schools through poetry and music.

“I think it that’s your vision and you put it out there, then that’s what will come,” Henderson said.

Church groups and businesses use Wired and Unplugged for meetings and gatherings. One local church meets to talk about the help members can provide for people from Africa.

Without their business helping the community around them, Henderson believes the venture would be sterile. It is genuine appreciation and respect that drives him.

“I wouldn’t be here,” Longmore said. “That’s what it’s all about for me.”

Christina Harper is a Snohomish County freelance writer. She can be reached at harper@heraldnet.com.

@2. Breakout Header:Contacts

Patti Kashiwa, 20615 Bothell-Everett Highway, Suite A, Bothell. 425-485-2942

Snohomish Health District’s dental resource line: 425-339-5219.

Wired and Unplugged, 717 First St., Snohomish. 360-568-2472. www.wiredandunplugged.com.